NEAC Friday Feature: SUNY Cobleskill

Oct 06, 2017

GANSEVOORT, N.Y. – Each week throughout the fall, the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) will highlight one of our conference members and feature two of the institution’s standout student-athletes. This week we turn our attention to the campus of SUNY Cobleskill where we meet student-athletes Quinn Porter and Dylan Mulvihill.

SUNY Cobleskill is a member of the State University of New York system boasting a rich academic tradition that spans over 100 years. Today, the college enrolls over 2,500 students in 52 associate and baccalaureate degree programs through The School of Agriculture and Natural Resources and The School of Business and Liberal Arts & Sciences. While SUNY Cobleskill has consistently been recognized among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report, the college was also been named a Military Friendly College by G.I. Jobs magazine. The college has also been listed among the Princeton Review’s 286 Greenest Colleges.

Students attending SUNY Cobleskill experience a campus that features a contiguous farm with a new equestrian center and 200-cow dairy facility, fish hatchery, specialized classrooms and laboratories, a student-run restaurant, and a nationally accredited child development and child care center. With excellent facilities and small classes, SUNY Cobleskill emphasizes experiential learning opportunities through internships and field experiences. The opportunity to have hands-on learning experiences in unique academic programs helped bring Quinn Porter and Dylan Mulvihill to SUNY Cobleskill.

Quinn Porter is in her junior year at SUNY Cobleskill and chose the college for its program in Animal Science. A member of the Fighting Tigers’ women’s cross country and track and field team, Porter also was attracted to its proximity to her hometown of Ballston Spa, N.Y.

“All of the programs here are very hands-on,” Porter said. “I think that is really beneficial to the learning process at SUNY Cobleskill.”

Porter is majoring in Animal Science/Animal Industry while recently taking on a minor in Agricultural Education. She is open to pursuing a number of opportunities in her future, including equine management or teaching agricultural education at the high school level. While her academic pursuits are preparing her for a future career, SUNY Cobleskill also offered Porter an opportunity to compete and excel as a Division III student-athlete.

“I like being a student-athlete because you come in and you instantly have friends and even though we compete at a high level, you are still in school to get your education” Porter said. “I like the flexibility you have with your schedule and the way our coaches understand what we have to do academically.”

Porter has been a key piece for the Fighting Tigers in her first two years. She was named the NEAC Cross Country Rookie of the Year in 2015 and earned All-NEAC First Team honors in 2015 and 2016. Porter is also a two-time NEAC Scholar Athlete and a SUNY Chancellor’s Scholar Athlete in Outdoor Track and Field in 2016-17.

“I have more of a leadership role in our program than I had in high school,” Porter added. “I like that I get to play a significant role and matter as part of our team.”

Dylan Mulvihill, who hails from Clifton Park, N.Y., also found being close to home as a benefit when selecting SUNY Cobleskill. The Fighting Tigers provided him an opportunity to play golf at the collegiate level while pursuing studies in the Turfgrass Management program.

“I would like to be a superintendent of a major golf course in the Southeastern United States,” Mulvihill noted. “Many of our program’s alumni have become superintendents at top courses throughout the country and I would like to be one of them.”

“I think people would be surprised to know that SUNY Cobleskill has one of the most respected Turfgrass Management programs in the entire country, with people working at places like Pebble Beach and Bethpage,” Mulvihill added.

A senior on the SUNY Cobleskill men’s golf team, Mulvihill has enjoyed the ability to combine his passion for golf as a student and an athlete. Earlier this season, he won the individual title at the SUNY Cobleskill Jug Classic and the Castleton University Invitational.

“The thing I have enjoyed most about my experience at SUNY Cobleskill as a Division III athlete is that I have had the opportunity to showcase my abilities both on and off the golf course,” Mulvihill said. “It has also given me the chance to meet people who have become my friends and helped me succeed.”

As Mulvihill moves through his final year at SUNY Cobleskill, he realizes that his campus has been a unique place to spend his collegiate career.

“What I like most about SUNY Cobleskill is the atmosphere here,” Mulvihill reflected. “This is a quiet, beautiful campus that has a real small-town feel to it.”